The Five Special Things

The Five things from the room I am currently setting in.  I did not see five things in this room so I had to use other rooms.

1.  My Bible

2.  A 20 x 16 picture of my mother and me

3.  A picture of my son and me when he was about two.

4.  A picture of my daughter.  I think she was about 4.

5.  My computer because I did not see anything else.

I do not particular think of material things as special.  They are something to be used and when they are no longer needed or useful, given away or thrown out.  I do treasure my pictures.  They capture a moment in time.  When I look at them, they still make me smile.

My Bible: I was in Washington, D.C. that last part of 2009.  My daughter wanted me to be here for Christmas so she brought me a plane ticket over the internet.  Yes, I had taken it to D.C.  Because of the snow storm, we arrived late to the airport.  I was told that my luggage probably would not make it.  A voice said to keep my Bible with me.  Then I was told that I probably would not make it.  The next flight was not until the next day and cost a hundred dollars more.  Then I heard my name called saying Lucinda Davis if you want to make this flight, hurry up.  I had not even gone through security.  My name was called two more times.  I got in line, asked people if I could get in front of them.  This is very unusual for me because I have a problem with asking people for anything or to do anything for me.  They all said “yes.”  With my shoes in my hands, my overnight bag, and my Bible, I ran for the plane.  When I got there the flight attendant said, “We are going to Dallas” then “just kidding, we were waiting for you.”  The pilot announced that “sorry for the delay now we can take off.  There was someone we couldn’t leave.”  I had just the clothes on my back, but my Bible and I were on that plane.  When I arrived in Birmingham, a man was complaining about the service.  He said they never wait for you and if they do, it is about five minutes.  Well, I told him that they waited way longer than five minutes for me, he was surprised.

 My mother was my best friend.  When I told her that we were moving to Alabama, she cried.  She said she did not want to move there because those folks are so prejudice.  She had had a bad experience while visiting relatives in Florida when the KKK thought one of our relatives was a white woman because that is how she looked.  Mom said they did not stop until they got to the Virginia line.  I sometimes wondered about how far they got before having to stop for gas, but in her mind it was Virginia.  So she always said she did not want to go any farther south than Virginia, our home state.  So she cried when I told her.  I said mom, you have other children you can stay with.  She said "no," if you crawl, I'm crawling.  If you walk, I'm walking” So she came with me.  I heard people say that two women cannot live in the same house.  My mother and I did because we respected each other.  After I became grown, she treated me as an adult and I likewise did not treat her as if she was too old to have a mind.  She stayed with me until the day she died.  When the doctor’s told her that there was nothing else they could do for her, she said “well there is no need for me to come back here then.  Whatever you do here, Lucinda can do at home.”  Then she looked at me and said “isn’t that right.”  I looked towards and heaven and said “help me Lord.”  He did.  She died peacefully in her own bed.  She gave me a kiss and said "I love you".  I asked if there was anything else I could do for her and she said “no".  As she moved close to the end of her life, she was very content.  The only thing bothering her was me.  She was afraid of how my ex-husband would treat me when she died.  I told her to not love me more than she love God and if He said she was ready, go. I also told her that the same God who is taking care of her is taking care of me, so don't worry. So after that she said she was just waiting for Him to take her.  One day it will be my turn.  I will meet her again.  I know this because it was a promise from God.  I will know her spirit. 

 My children are grown and much taller and bigger than I.  I can no longer hold them on my lap, but I can look at the time when I could and think back to when for the most part, I was the most important person in their lives.  They each now have another important person so mother gets push back.  That is the way it is supposed to be, but I still have the moments in time captured in my pictures. 

Should age be a factor?

I was told by someone the other day that I was too old to start a career.  The person said that I should have started my career years ago and should be nearing the end.  They had asked me what I was doing.  They made this comment when I stated that I was starting my Ph.D. program and wanted to teach at the college level.  The person said that I would not get a job teaching there because I had to start at the bottom, elementary or high school.  Then he said I was too old.  The person made the assumption that I had not been working all of these years.  The fact is that I have over 29 years of work experience plus over 10 years of volunteer service.  I worked for the government for 11 years; ran a business for 9 and have been working for UAB for 9 years.  He walked off as I was telling him this.

As I thought on the conversation, I wondered if employers would look at me as being too old. Would they just assume things about me because of my age?  I am not computer savvy or inflexible, not open to new ideas, will not be around long enough for them to get their investment in me back. 

There are a lot of advantages in hiring seasoned people.  Some of us are great on computers.  Some of us are not tied down with small children so we can be flexible in our time and attention and are open to new ideas, visions, thoughts and dreams.  Some have useful experiences and do not mind sharing.  Some of us do not mind that our supervisors may be younger than we are.  As for staying around longer, age is no guarantee.  There are just as many funerals for the young as there are for the old. 

Do I not have the right to go for my dreams no matter my age?

The Book that Impacted my Life

I have always been an avid reader.  I love all kinds of books.  I used them to get always from life when I was young because we grew up very hard.  I used to something forget what was real life and the book life.  The book that has impacted my life is the Bible especially the book of Revelations.  The Bible gives me hope.  This life can be hard, sad and a little lonely.  The Bible helps me to hold on and live the best life I can live.  I especially love teaching it to others.  I try to read or listen to a chapter every day.  I very seldom miss a day.  This is the only book that I have consistently read over the years.  The other books I read helped me to escape the realities of this world.  The Bible helps me to get closer to Jesus, therefore, helps me to live contently no matter what my circumstances may be at a given time.

Introduction

My name is Lucinda L. Davis.  I was born in Albemarle County, Virginia.  I am the youngest of 10 children.  I am also a twin.  My mother had two sets of twins.  She started out with twin boys who died.  One was stillborn and the other died a few months later.  She ended up with twin girls.  I was premature and had to stay in the hospital for a month.  My sisters and brothers said they were surprised to come home and find another baby in the house.  They wondered where I had come from.  I contribute my survival at birth from that fact that unlike my brothers whom she had at home, she had my twin and me in a hospital.

I do not plan on teaching at the high school or elementary levels although I am homeschooling my 11-year-old granddaughter.  This is not for the long-term.  I was dissatisfied with the quality of education and the favoritism that goes on in the public school system.  I want her to have a better start.  I would prefer teaching at the college level.   As a child, my first choice of profession was nursing.  Then as I began maturing, my interested became law.  I started my college career in my forties.  I felt I was too old to go to law school even though I was told by a lawyer at the University of Alabama that I should after he read over my divorce decree I wrote.  I did not have the confidence to pursue that career.  I believe I am a good teacher.  I teach breast and cervical cancer awareness classes for the University of Alabama at Birmingham.  I also taught for 6 months at the early head start center.  I was a Sunday school teacher for over 15 years.  I have a master's degree in counseling/psychology.  I hope to teach in that field at the college level and maybe also open up my own practice.  My twin always say that its a good field for me because I am always trying to analysis somebody's mind.

Something funny that happened in my life was for 16 years I thought I was the first born twin.  That is what my mother said.  I went to school in New York and had to get my birth certificate.  It said that I was the second born twin.  I called my mother and she said "you are."  Then I said that is not what my birth certificate says.  She answered with "well, I don't know."  I told my twin that she could be "Lucinda" and I could be "Linda," but we were not going to change now. 

I chose this video because it shows how much influence we have on the young mind and how important it is to start teaching and training at a young age.  We have a lot of miss opportunities in the lives of those we touch.  We need to take advantage of those opportunities to instill good moral values, help to develop good character and a well-rounded child.  It is never too young to learn. The Bible says to train up a child in the way he should go then when he gets old, he will not depart.  So let us start training up our children to go the right way.

Questions:

1. There has been controversial concerning learning programs geared towards infants and toddlers. What age should you start teaching children?

2. Can you overload children with too much information?

3. Should you give children the opportunities then let them decide if they want to engage in those activities?

4. The Headstart centers have a "child-lead" philosophy to their program. The system just provides a safe environment for the child to explore and learn on its own. Instead of showing them how and what to draw, you give them a piece of paper and whatever they wish to write with and let them draw whatever comes to mind. Do you think children need more guidance in learning?

New Class

This is the first time I have blogged.  I am enrolled in a class at UWA that requires me to do this.  I am not sure if I am going to continue after this class.  I do not even like to chat online.  So blogging is sharing your opinion with others.  I pray to have something important to say